Walking in Yerevan
Yerevan - the capital and largest city of Armenia, located on the left bank of the Ararat Valley.
Absolutely nothing is expected from Yerevan, simply because they do not know anything and had not heard about the capital of sunny Armenia. The only thing was afraid of a little bit: I think that there are still ninety purses and Gopnik on the streets. And now when I remember those ridiculous thoughts, in fact, it turned out to be incredibly friendly Yerevan city.
Imagine a city-milionnik in which there is no McDonald's and just started building boom, diluting the Soviet image of the city - is Yerevan. To some extent the reserve. Despite diligent efforts, in Yerevan, in contrast to the same Tbilisi or Batumi, no tourist gloss, all areas of living.

Yerevan and other Armenian cities can not be confused with any other earthly cities due tufu Yerevan, which has a distinctive maroon color. Due tufu Soviet skyscrapers look simply delicious, plus not as visible streaks of air conditioners:

In Yerevan, a lot of examples of good architecture of the Soviet era:

In general, the city is completely Soviet. Since 1924, Yerevan has been completely redesigned and rebuilt. Since that time, were examples of constructivism.

In the center of Yerevan painting the entrances into the yards:

Yerevan it looks at the top. Seen small and large Ararat. For 4 days we did not see Ararat in the daytime, visibility was very bad:

The traditional Armenian name Ararat - Masis. According to Soviet and Russian historian-Orientalist Novoseltseva, "Masis" has Iranian origin, in and of itself means "great, great," in the sense of the highest (Mount), as in Middle Persian "masist" - "the biggest". Yerevan and Ararat.

Mount Ararat is the symbol of the Armenian nation, on top of it is Noah's Ark, since, according to one tradition, the ark rested on Mount Ararat after the flood.

Ararat is not only a symbol, but also the head of Armenia pain, because there is a mountain in Turkey. The land on which is Ararat, has moved from the Armenian SSR (formed November 29, 1920) to Turkey on the Moscow and Kars treaties in 1921.
Little Ararat:


As mentioned earlier in this article, in Yerevan, no McDonald's. Western brands have KFC, modestly lost in the shadow of the plane trees of the city park, but Coca-Cola with other Pepsi. Yet there are a number of US banks, and of all the rest - the city-reserve.

in Armenia with apartment houses do what they want. The back side of the five-story building - it is completely unauthorized construction, and so almost all the houses:

samostroem continue Yerevan tuff. That's true and living traditions:

from the roof in Yerevan everything is fine. Complete destruction of housing and communal services swept away all the locks from the rooftops. Plus, the attitude of local residents to the rooftops far more adequate than in Ukraine and in Russia on many roofs constructed shelters with barbecue, and the tenants themselves - nice people. They are often the roof leaks, but when they heard that we went to take pictures from a height of Yerevan, every effort to help and assist penetration of the roof.

Entrance:

Favela

Cinema "Russia", now turned into a bazaar:

By the way, on the market. In the grocery market near the shopping center "Tashir". Customers about as much as in the photo. I wonder, is it always so empty there? Sellers have complained that there is always:

are sold very cool souvenirs "Vernissage" market. Color - as you want. Here chess:

Painting:

About Karabakh in Armenia say it is "the second Armenian state." On souvenirs and attached to Karabakh AZERI strip between Armenia and, actually, NK:

Armenians. In ethnic terms in modern Armenia everything is simple and clear - all the Armenians. Well, that is, we can safely tell funny jokes about Georgians or Azerbaijanis, no Armenian from the company will not be offended


Cascade. Planned during the Soviet era, it was partially built in independent Armenia. Money gave some oligarch, but funding is now suspended, so that the second stage of the cascade is in its infancy in the basement level:

Some of the cascade spread Yerevan Monaco.

Maison Charles Aznavour. Charles Aznavour - French singer, writer and actor of Armenian origin:

Then for the stage - LCD "Northern Ray". has not yet been put into operation. The only normal modern building, which I saw in Yerevan:

Hrazdan Stadium. It is the largest and the only two-tier stadium in Armenia:

By the way, about the modern architecture of Yerevan. In this regard, there is complete kapets. For example, the road to the airport - Yerevan Las Vegas. In both directions of traffic lined casinos, one more beautiful than the other:

They work in a casino, according to the taxi driver, Ukrainian girls:

And the most beautiful building in Yerevan, in my humble opinion - it is a sports complex. An incredible futuristic building 80s. The area around the sports complex is very reminded gardens around the Republican Stadium in Kiev before reconstruction. The massive building is surrounded by untouched nature, is a delightful place.

Sports and Concert Complex after Karen Demirchyan "Amalir" - one of the biggest concert complex in Yerevan. October 9, 2005 the complex was sold for $ 5, 7 million dollars to the Russian construction holding BAMO, which has pledged to reconstruct it. New reconstruction took almost three years and cost about $ 42 million.

So, but I'm not about Ukrainian girls from the casino. With public catering in Yerevan not. I got the impression that Yerevan residents eat only at home. This is not surprising, this tradition is still strong in many countries of the former USSR.
Unlike Georgia, small home stolovok in which local lunch, we did not find in Armenia. Alternative restaurant looks like. I honestly admit that I did not dare to eat such delicacies:

Public transport can really tell a lot about the city. The level of development of the city by public transport it is entirely determined.
Bogdana minibuses in Yerevan are classified as buses. The normal buses in Yerevan there. And basically jump around the city Gazelle, which packed people. But this kind, will help with a bag to move, when it would seem, already physically move nowhere. Interestingly, residents of Yerevan and are friendly with each other, or is it a well-known Armenian hospitality to guests?

stop:

In the fleet of transport Yerevan there are quite exotic. Here is the bus number 0:

You must pay at the exit. Conveniently + does not need to pass that very annoying:

Once the tram was in Yerevan, and now yellow Bogdan - Bus:

The only branch of the Yerevan metro (10 stations) proudly bears the name of the "first line". Second, there is only looking at the charts of the Yerevan metro and it looks like only the oligarchs under force to fix it. But they chose the Cascade (see. Above). "Yeritasardakan" station (Youth):

As part of the car 2:


Stratification of the Armenian society can be illustrated with this image:

We left Yerevan is not very early morning hours 8. The streets are empty buses, cars and people almost none. "Where is everyone why so empty?" - ask a taxi driver. "But people have nowhere to go, no job. Yerevan to wake up and get up late "- meets a taxi driver.

Elegant empty building and the bus station. As if hit the abandoned halls built of dead alien race, the film "Prometheus", a pancake:

The archaeologists of the future will break your head, building hypotheses explaining hit Rafiq into the empty halls of the northern bus station in Yerevan.
So I saw Yerevan. Let you can not bother to be gloomy a selection of photos. Yerevan - a beautiful city that is certainly worth a visit!
